THE GOOD NEWS IS…THE BAD NEWS COULD BE WORSE
(…the bad news is…the good news should be better…)

Every year the President reports to the Congress on the state of the union. It’s a constitutional mandate which, over time, has now become an annual ritual of mutual superficial bonhomie and civility between the Executive and the Legislative branches of our government.

It’s a neat political minuet and pas-de-deux where everyone plays their parts to perfection, just to show the electorate that the edifice of our country’s governance is still there.

For this year’s event the President displayed plenty of both giving his entrance and departure from that chamber the appearance of a rock star plowing through throngs of admiring fans, especially those of the opposite gender, who swarmed all over him with hugs and kisses (well, the office obviously has some fringe benefits it seems).

As for his address to that Congress of ours…it had all the flavor and tone of a mildly irate coach in the locker room at half-time both cracking the whip and cajoling his team because their score was a few points behind where it should be. That is, the good news is…the bad news could be worse…the bad news is…the good news should be better…all in all a mixed bag of results which needed to be improved. For the most part the Congress played its part in these proceedings by politely applauding his evocative flourishes and motivational rhetoric, without otherwise showing any commitment to his propositions. Democrats were loud in their acclaim…the Republicans much less so, but the most striking thing about the President’s presentation was his slyly humorous style as he presented his vision for what he hoped might be accomplished between now and the end of his term. A vision apparently less than welcomed, if Speaker Boehner’s stony-faced expression was any indicator.

Another curious aspect of this event was the Republican choice of spokesperson to present their responses to the President’s propositions. This year they chose a comely blonde freshman senator from Iowa, whose performance had all the verve of an animated, battery-operated, Barbie Doll…making a commercial for some kind of health food product.

Well, being the annual ritual which it has become we should not expect much more than this from it. Serious discussion and debate about issues and matters of national concern just are not what the state of the union is all about. It’s simply a grand bit of political theater to show the rest of the world how America conducts all out political warfare…without bloodshed. The serious business is quietly taken care of…off stage…and behind closed doors.

CENTURION